After dabbling with the idea of turning his back on the government in the last outing, Double Agent, this new game will reportedly see Sam Fisher abandon his governmental duties permanently to become a fugitive.

Ubisoft has so far not commented on the speculation.

Microsoft has previously announced that this next instalment in the Splinter Cell franchise is to be an Xbox 360 and Games for Windows exclusive, meaning that unlike Double Agent, there will be no PS3 or Wii versions.